Research is at the core of NPI’s work. We analyze problems using the logic of progressive values to find and advance ideas that will improve lives. Below are summaries of NPI’s latest major poll findings with links to the Cascadia Advocate post accompanying the release of each survey question.
Voters likely to sustain state’s new sex ed law by approving Referendum 90, NPI poll finds
Finding: A clear majority of Washingtonians are voting or prepared to vote to keep the state’s new Democratically-approved comprehensive sexual health education law and resume its implementation. Read more.
Chris Reykdal leads for OSPI; Maia Espinoza not far behind and many voters undecided
Finding: Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, a former Democratic legislator, is ahead of his Republican-backed challenger Maia Espinoza, but not by much… and most voters surveyed by NPI are not sure who they’re voting for. Read more.
Raquel Montoya-Lewis and G. Helen Whitener ahead for Supreme Court; most voters unsure
Finding: More Washingtonians know who they’re supporting for State Supreme Court compared to the spring of 2020, but most are still undecided, NPI’s October 2020 poll has found. Read more.
Longtime Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler looks all set to win a sixth term
Finding: The longest-serving member of Washington State’s executive department appears to be a lock for reelection to a sixth straight term as Washington State’s Insurance Commissioner. Read more.
Denny Heck has twice as much support as Marko Liias for Lieutenant Governor, but most voters undecided
Finding: Washingtonians will be choosing from between two Democratic candidates in the 2020 contest for Lieutenant Governor, one of whom currently has twice as much support as the other. Read more.
Hilary Franz comfortably ahead in 2020 contest for Commissioner of Public Lands
Finding: Though Republicans put up a decent candidate in Sue Kuehl Pederson, Democrats are strongly favored to keep control of the position that heads Washington’s Department of Natural Resources. Read more.
Mike Pellicciotti ahead of Duane Davidson; office of State Treasurer could flip Democratic
Finding: Democrats in Washington are well positioned to recapture the downballot office that is responsible for the management of the state’s money, NPI research shows. Read more.
Pat McCarthy has ample lead over Chris Leyba in bid to remain Washington State Auditor
Finding: Former Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy appears to be on track to keep the position of Washington State Auditor in Democratic hands, four years after taking over from convicted successor Troy Kelley, NPI’s research has found. Read more.
Kim Wyman ahead in tight Secretary of State contest; NPI’s Gael Tarleton gaining ground
Finding: Republicans in Washington State are trying to keep their decades-long winning streak going for the office that oversees elections. Democrats hope their candidate can pull off a come-from-behind win. Read more.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson enjoys wide lead over Republican challenger Matt Larkin
Finding: Voters in Washington State are ready to return their incumbent chief law enforcement officer to another term in office, NPI’s October 2020 poll has found. Read more.
Jay Inslee leads Loren Culp by sixteen points in Washington’s 2020 gubernatorial race
Finding: Incumbent Democratic Governor Jay Inslee is well positioned to become the first chief executive since Dan Evans to be elected to a third term in office. Read more.
Three out of five Washingtonians surveyed are voting for Joe Biden, NPI poll finds
Finding: 60% of likely voters surveyed on October 14th-15th, 2020 said Biden was their choice for President of the United States, while 37% said they were voting for Donald Trump. Read more.
As voting ramps up, NPI poll finds fewer rural Washingtonians approving of Donald Trump
Finding: Voters in every region of Washington State disapprove of Donald Trump’s job performance, even voters in Eastern and Central Washington. Read more.
Most Washingtonians not sure who they’ll vote for in state’s 2020 Supreme Court races
Finding: Around four out of five likely 2020 Washington voters are unsure who they’ll be supporting in the 2020 cycle’s contested State Supreme Court races, which pit appointed Justices Raquel Montoya-Lewis and G. Helen Whitener against two challengers. Read more.
Joe Biden on track for landslide Washington State win in November 2020
Finding: Nearly three out of five Washingtonians support Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy, while only 37% plan to vote to reelect Donald Trump in November of 2020 and 5% were not sure. Read more.
Donald Trump is becoming more unpopular in Washington State’s suburbs
Finding: While Donald Trump’s overall approval rating in Washington State remains at 35%, the same as it was in the spring of 2018 and 2019, the percentage of voters in South and North Puget Sound who disapprove of Trump’s job performance has gone up. Read more.
Voters strongly support comprehensive sexual health education for young Washingtonians
Finding: 67% of voters surveyed want the Washington State Legislature to require schools to teach inclusive, evidence-informed, scientifically accurate, comprehensive sexual health education. Read more.
More than two in three Washingtonians favor banning single use plastic bags
Finding: An overwhelming majority of Washington voters agree that retailers ought to be prohibited from distributing single use plastic bags statewide to reduce pollution in landfills and in our oceans. Read more.
By a smidgen, Elizabeth Warren is Donald Trump’s strongest challenger in Evergreen State
Finding: Of the three Democratic hopefuls currently considered most likely to secure the party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2020, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts does the best in a hypothetical matchup against Republican Donald Trump. Read more.
Almost three in five Washington voters support impeaching Donald Trump
Finding: Majorities support impeaching the lawless Donald Trump in every region of the Evergreen State except for Eastern Washington, where voters are almost evenly divided on the question. Read more.
Presidential candidates should be required to disclose tax returns to access Washington’s ballot
Finding: Three out of five Washington voters agree that candidates for President of the United States should be required to disclose at least five years of personal tax returns in order to appear on the state’s general election ballot, with a majority of fifty-one percent in strong agreement. Read more.
Washingtonians disapprove of Trump’s job performance, would vote for Democratic opponent if election were being held now
Finding: Washingtonians have a low opinion of Donald Trump’s job performance. More than three in five voters surveyed statewide gave Trump a thumbs down. Even in Eastern Washington, more voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance than approve. Read more.
Putting a price on pollution
Finding: 57% of likely 2018 voters surveyed agree that Washington State should reduce emissions of air pollutants like carbon dioxide and methane by levying a pollution tax and using the revenue raised to invest in electric transportation infrastructure and renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal. Read more.
State Supreme Court
Finding: 74% of likely voters surveyed were not sure who they’d support for Washington State Supreme Court Position #8, the only contested high court race of the 2018 midterms. Of those who did specify a preference, 16% expressed a preference for admonished attorney Nathan Choi, while only 10% were for accomplished incumbent Steve Gonzalez. Read more.
Life in prison alternatives to the death penalty
Finding: 69% of Washingtonians (including supermajorities of Democrats and independents, and a majority of Republicans) support life in prison alternatives to the death penalty, while just 24% support executions as a punishment for people convicted of murder. Read more.
Education funding and capital gains tax
Finding: A majority of Washingtonians remain supportive of levying a capital gains tax on the wealthy to ensure our state meets its paramount duty of providing an amply funded education for all children residing within its borders. Read more.
U.S. Senate, 2018
Finding: Democratic U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell enjoys a sixteen-point lead over her best known Republican opponent, former State Party Chair Susan Hutchison. Hutchison’s deficit is almost identical to the one that Michael Baumgartner, Cantwell’s 2012 opponent, started out with six years ago. Cantwell went on to defeat Baumgartner with 60% of the vote to his 39%. Read more.
De-Escalate Washington’s I-940
Finding: 69% of likely 2018 Washington voters favor an initiative to require law enforcement to receive violence de-escalation and mental-health training in addition to changing the legal standard for use of deadly force, with only 28% opposed. Read more.
Corporate tax accountability
Finding: Nearly four out of five Washingtonians want legislators to toughen our tax code to hold corporations financially responsible when they fail to deliver on their job creation promises or they move jobs out of our state. Read more.
Special state legislative elections in 2017
Finding: Given the opportunity to cast a vote in a special state House race or state Senate contest this year — ordinarily just a local election year — most Washingtonians surveyed say they would support the Democratic Party’s candidates. Read more.
Medicare For All
Finding: Half of Washingtonians surveyed (50%) strongly support expanding Medicare to cover everyone, while an additional 14% are somewhat supportive, for a total of 64% supportive. And, by a nearly two-to-one margin, respondents said they preferred the Patient Protection Act signed into law by President Obama to the “Trumpcuts” legislation that has repeatedly failed to pass the United States Senate. Read more.